Work and Duty
by Jesape
Summary: Jack was a little weakened by being dead for so long, and needs some care.  A bit of team, and a bit of JackIanto.  Missing scene for End of Days.


**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Summary: This is a missing scene for "End of Days". I figured the gap between Jack waking up and leaving on the TARDIS could have been anything from a few hours to a couple of days. I decided that it was a few days for the purposes of this fic, and that Jack was pretty wiped from being dead and would need to be taken care of. Also, it's Jack/Ianto.**

**Also, the title, "Work and Duty" is based on a lyric from a Decemberist song, "We both go down together".**

It was between Owen's sobs into his chest that Jack felt his tight hug on the younger man begin to slacken, and his legs fold underneath him. He gave a short "ugh!" before falling to the floor, which was cold, and hard, and hurt his head when his skull whacked against it as he fell.

The next thing he knew, he team members were bending over him, but their faces were blurring into one another and spinning so fast that he wasn't sure who was who. He could hear them, though:

"I don't know. He's still so cold," Owen said.

"I've an electric blanket in the other room," Ianto, of course.

"We should try to get something warm into him," and that was Gwen.

"I'll go." Tosh.

The world spun about for a bit after that, and then went black. Jack was indeed very cold. Too cold to shiver, even. Too cold to do much of anything. Gradually, things became warmer: an even warmth coated his body.

"We need to get some liquid into him,"

Jack's eyes fluttered open to see Owen, perched on the side of his bed. Ianto was at the head of the bed, hovering.

"Hey," Owen said, his voice unusually soft. "You gave us a bit of a scare there."

Jack's mouth was dry, and stuck. Painfully, he opened it. "Wh-aaah," he gasped a bit, swallowing. Helpfully, a straw was inserted into his mouth and he drank the liquid. Water. It tasted wonderful. He gulped a bit before Ianto pulled the straw away, muttering worriedly about Jack not drinking too much too fast.

He tried to speak again.

"What happened?"

Owen shrugged from his perch. "That's the thing, mate. Not sure. You were dead for awhile. I imagine that takes its toll. You're dehydrated and probably in need of some food. You were also dangerously hypothermic for a bit there, and" he said, resting a hand on Jack's forehead "You're still not as warm as I'd like, though Ianto's ability to pull exactly what we need out of his ass helped."

"The electric blanket was in the closet," Ianto said. "I always keep one around."

"Right."

Jack smiled, shifting slightly on the bed to get more comfortable. He was, he realized, dressed not in the clothes he'd collapsed in, but in a pair of very warm flannel pajamas. This was a perfect opportunity for innuendo!

"Who dressed me?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"Owen and I did," answered Ianto, pointedly ignoring a glare the doctor sent his way.

"I always knew you wanted to get me out of my pants, Owen."

Owen grumbled slightly, not appearing really miffed.

"Only in your fantasies, Harkness. I worship at the temple of the female body."

Jack smiled, but an incredible heaviness was exerting its influence over his body, and he was too tired to offer a clever reply.

"Where are Gwen and Tosh?" he asked sleepily

"Room's a little small," Owen pointed out.

"Decided we'd watch you in shifts. And now that I'm fairly certain you're not going to die on us, it's Ianto's turn."

Jack yawned as Owen left the room.

"Yan?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Lay down with me."

And within a moment the Welshman had draped his thin, long body over Jack's, warming him. Jack swept his arms, heavy and tired though they were, around Ianto's body, embracing him. They lay like that, side by side, Jack's head slipping into the crook of Ianto's neck. The Welshman cradled him protectively.

Jack sighed. Ianto began rubbing his back in a comforting, circular motion. It felt amazing. He slept, comforted in warm arms.

What seemed like not long after that, he was woken by quiet sobs and the sensation of the body that had been holding him moving away.

"Ianto?"

"Go to sleep, sir. You need the rest," said the tearful voice.

Jack sighed, and he felt exhausted. Ianto was right. But this was…wrong. Ianto shouldn't have been crying. They should have just slept, holding one another.

"Please come back to bed. We can talk about it."

"I can't, sir."

And with that, and a few quick steps out of the room, Ianto was gone.

"Ianto," Jack gasped softly

"Please…don't leave. Don't leave me alone in the dark."

He struggled to get up, so that he could go after him. He only succeeded in falling into a fitful, troubled sleep.

_Jack was in the field, waiting for Abaddon. The beast came, a great scaly force of destruction, and Jack screamed in pain as the shadow loomed over him. He screamed and screamed, unable to die. Finally a streak of white light began to be pulled out of his body, but this was the most excruciating of all. He was deafened by the sound of his own scream, before collapsing into pain and darkness…_

…_there was something there, waiting…_

…_he screamed…_

"Jack! Jack, wake up!"

He felt someone shaking him awake rather abruptly; his screams faded into his throat and he gasped as he felt Tosh pull him into her arms. They stayed crouched like that for awhile, her supporting him in a sitting position, perched on the edge of the bed, holding him. Comforting him as his weakened body shook with all the energy it possessed.

He swallowed, and eventually Tosh lay him down again.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" she asked shyly.

"That would be…wonderful," he said hoarsely.

Tosh nodded, and tipped a thermos filled with the warm, sweet liquid to his mouth, and he slowly drank. When he was done, Tosh wiped his mouth with a napkin. He smiled.

They didn't talk much after that, except when he asked: "Tosh, where's Ianto?" and she said, softly: "I don't know, he left the hub and…we haven't seen him." she said.

He only said "Oh," and sighed softly. Tosh held his hand and he lay there, staring at the ceiling, thinking of Ianto.

And then he fell asleep. It was more peaceful.

When he awoke this time, Gwen was there. She propped him up on pillows and fed him chicken soup, and helped him use the bedpan, which made him blush. They played an old version of Candyland that had been hanging about the hub for god knows how long, and half the pieces were missing so they ended up making new rules and improvising a lot.

She laid down on the bed with him, like Ianto but not. Jack snuggled next to her, comforted by the platonic touch. It was warm and it was contact, which was what he was craving, it seemed. Maybe being dead for so long did that to you, he thought.

They stayed awake, talking for awhile, and about nothing, really. It was meaningless smalltalk, and probably what he should be breaking himself of with his team, but he felt too drained to be sharing secrets. Gwen seemed to understand.

And then, Owen was there. He spent most of his shift sitting awkwardly by Jack's bed in a chair, sometimes asking him how he was feeling, and checking his vital signs. He seemed assured that Jack was getting better, though Jack himself wondered at what was, for him, a comparatively slow rate. But he'd never been dead so long, either.

Owen was twitchy, bitchy, and attentive when so required. And Jack knew, from the way he'd sometimes adjust his pillows or blanket, or tentatively check his temperature or pulse, that Owen cared.

"We'll have to work on this," Jack decided.

After more sleep, Jack woke up again feeling comparatively stronger. Owen was still there, and told him he was free to get up and move around, but not to overdo it. Wanting to see Ianto, Jack interpreted this rather loosely to mean "No chasing down aliens," and snuck out of the hub on wobbly legs after Owen had fallen asleep in a chair. He'd draped a blanket over the doctor before he left.

When he exited the hub, he realized that it was night. He leaned against the side of the building, gasping and wet with sweat, a nauseous feeling in his stomach. He swallowed it down, checked the pockets of the greatcoat for cash, and swore when he realized there was none. He was still wearing the flannel pajamas underneath the greatcoat.

Ianto's flat was only a couple of blocks away. He stumbled on, finally reaching the building, and heaving his way up the stairs. He toppled to the floor with a "thud!" just outside of Ianto's door, and leaned, panting against it. When the door was opened, he nearly fell completely sideways onto the floor, but someone caught him.

_Ianto_.

"Jack? Holy shit!"

He giggled slightly, and sweated some more. He'd never known Ianto to swear like that.

"Jesus…Jack…" he was vaguely aware of the worried mutterings as he was dragged (mostly carried) inside, and lain upon something soft. Ianto's bed, he realized. He'd never actually been in it before. A wet cloth was pressed to his forehead, and he heard a series of beeps as he realized Ianto was probably calling the others.

"Don't," he said quietly, and Ianto stopped.

"I'll be okay. Just…don't call them. I want to be with you. Just you. Please…talk to me."

"This is ridiculous."

"It's not. We have stuff to say. You know I forgive you, right?"

"Maybe I don't deserve your forgiveness. Jack, I betrayed you. You trusted me. And I threw it away when I helped the others to open the rift."

"I've been alive a long time, Ianto. And when you've been through some of the things I have…you learn that forgiveness is necessary to survive…I can't survive without you. Please don't pull away."

Ianto gulped, and a bit of the heaviness went away. For the first time in awhile, he had faith. And he had Jack Harkness, here with him. He laid down next to the thinned, tired body, and embraced Jack for all he was worth.

"I missed you," he said softly. "I could barely breathe when I thought you were gone."

Jack burrowed deeply into Ianto, knowing that this time, Ianto wouldn't be the one to leave. And out of the blue, he said:

"I can't promise everything, Ianto. There are some things I need answers to, and I can't commit fully to anything until I have them. There's something I'm waiting for. I think it's coming soon…I can feel it."

"I'll wait for you while you wait," Ianto said. "I owe you that much."

They lay there like that, for hours, comforted by each other. Ianto the strong pillar, bolstered by love, duty and guilt. Jack accepted it all, and waited for a whooshing noise to meet his ears.


End file.
